Providing parents with procedural safeguards electronically

A new section of the Maine Unified Special Education Regulations Birth to Age Twenty (MUSER) permits school administrative units (SAUs) to send certain documents, including the procedural safeguards, to parents electronically with their written consent. See MUSER Section XIV.14 (p. 156).

Alternatively, the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs has advised that the requirement to provide parents with procedural safeguards can be satisfied by directing parents to an electronic copy of the safeguards on the SAU’s website coupled with an offer to provide a hard copy version if parents request.

For a summary of the circumstances under which the procedural safeguards must be given to parents, click here. The procedural safeguards (in English and seven other languages) can be found here.

A parent-friendly version of the procedural safeguards is also available here, which may be provided along with (but never in place of) the official version.

For more information or if you have questions about this issue, please contact the Department’s Director of Special Services Janice Breton at janice.breton@maine.gov or 624-6676. The Department is committed to encouraging the full participation of parents of learners with special needs in their children’s education.